Dream Slain
by ghostFACERS95
Summary: Amani Pembrooke was your average girl with an average life. A life she was more than happy to have. She had friends, a family, potentially even a guy with a cute smile. But what happens when she dies in a car crash and wakes up in a world with horror around every corner?
1. Authors Note

Hello special reader,

I will try my best to be as accurate as possible in this story, well as accurate as one can be with Bloodborne. Much of this story is what the player comes up with on their own from what little evidence they are able to find. For this reason I will tell you what my three sources for this story will be. This way we all have a stable lore setting that we can all refer to.

First and foremost my biggest source will be The Paleblood Hunt (Finalized) which you can find here:

This was written by Bloodborne fan that goes by Redgrave and I think it's a fantastic interpretation of the game. I would recommend reading this even if you don't know the Bloodborne lore very well, he does a great job of separating what is fact (found in the game) and what is his interpretation. I have a version of this that is marked up with my own personal highlighting and what not. If you really want it I can try to find a way to send this to you, but I make no promises.

My next source will just simply be the Bloodborne Wikia. This will probably used for things like details of the different areas and game mechanics, etc. You can the Wikia here:

My final source will be videos by a YouTuber by the name of Vaatividya. Another place I highly recommend going through if you don't know the lore well.

If you have any questions about where to find something specifically or something about my story or just a lore question in general you are always more than welcome to ask me. I will do my very best to answer or point you in the direction of the best source for your answer.

I want to thank you all for spending even a moment of your time looking at my story and I apologize for the very boring start. I found it necessary because Bloodborne's lore can be very vague and confusing and there are many different theories out there. I wanted to make sure you had all the same references as me.

Much love,

Ghost


	2. Once Upon A Dream

So I was going to wait till I had more written before I posted this but...I just couldn't help myself! I've been working through reading the Paleblood Hunt for so long and I just finished it the other day so I was super excited to start this story! I wanted to see how people felt about it so please let me know! Thanks again for stopping by!

* * *

Prologue

Amani Pembrooke smiled at the customers of the bookshop as she returned to the counter. She was the most average of people. Average looks, average body, average job, but she was happy and that was all that mattered to her. She had experienced love, friendship, family, had her own home and was living "comfortably" as one would say.

She had never strived to be anything more than what she was and she was okay with that. She'd see posts from her friends doing all kinds of crazy things. Sky diving, hiking through the jungle, surfing the waves, anything and everything. There had been plenty of times when they tried to get her to come along, but she could count the number of times she actually agreed on a single hand.

She was a quiet girl, but that wasn't to say that she was shy. She was confident in herself, what she believed in and what she wanted. Amani just happen to also believe that there didn't always have to be noise to fill the silence or that her voice had to be loud to be heard.

Her long brown hair and bright green eyes were probably about the only non-average things about her. Her hair was the one thing that she let go with, trying all kinds of color designs and hair styles. She had always been dragging all of this hair around with her that she figured she might as well use it for something, right?

A small smile slid onto her face as a customer walked up to the counter with a thick book. She immediately recognized H.P. LOVECRAFT written in capital letters across the top. She glanced up and was surprised to see that the customer was your day to day guy. A very cute day to day guy she realized the longer she looked at him.

"Lovecraft, eh?" She asked as she finally took the book from him and began ringing it up.

"Yeah, not usually my first pick, but I decided to try something new." He said sheepishly, a small smiling flashing across his face when she looked at him again.

"Well, I'm quite the horror buff." She admitted as she held out her hand for his payment. "If you end up liking him I would be more than happy to point out others."

"Really?" He asked, his tone hopeful as his smile grew and she looked at him in surprise before her own smile grew as well. There was something familiar about the guy, but she couldn't quite place it. She had never seen him before in the bookshop or, at least, she thought she hadn't.

"Of course, I'm always happy to help a horror fan. Even if they are just becoming one. Usually the horror fans that come in here are the moody teenagers who got their first piercing a week ago." She joked and when he chuckled she felt nerves flutter in her stomach. Even his chuckle was enough to make a girl's knees quiver.

With black hair that was slightly longer at the top, so that it could be smoothed back and shaved at the sides, lightly tanned skin, and hazel eyes she was sure the man had a wife by now. Or he was a serial killer, that's how it usually went at least. She could even see feint, shallow dimples in his cheeks as he smiled again before taking his book.

"Well I'd definitely appreciate it. Thanks…" He trailed off as he waited for her name and her eyes widened slightly as she realized this.

"Oh! Sorry, I'm Aamani." She said as she felt the beginnings of a blush grow on her cheeks.

"Blake." He said in returned to which she smiled and nodded.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Blake." Even the man's name rolled off the tongue nicely, it was ridiculous really.

"You too, thanks again." He said as he held up his book for a moment before walking away.

"He totally likes you!" Amani looked over to see her coworker leaning against the counter with a grin.

Callie was another longtime worker of the bookshop. She started when she was sixteen and still hadn't gotten bored of the place two years later. A dark green beanie sat snug on her head as it contrasted sharply with her bright blonde hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes. Eyeliner made her eyes stand out even more along with the dark sweatshirt she was wearing.

"Callie, what are you on about now?" Amani asked with a sigh even though she couldn't quite hide the smile on her face. Her younger friend was determined to believe any cute man that walked into the store somehow had the hots for Amani. Most of the time it was just a small joke between friends, but for once the teenager seemed fairly serious.

"Why? Cause he showed a small interest in horror?" She joked, but she paused when Callie didn't immediately fire a joke back.

"Yeah after he saw _you_ show an interest in it." She said like it was obvious.

"What?" Amani asked with furrowed brows as she tried to recall what she had done earlier in the day. She barely had time to eat lunch today let alone fiddle around in the horror section like she normally did.

"Mani." Callie said with a long suffering sigh as she straightened up and gave the older woman a look. "Sweetie."

"What?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and Callie sighed again.

"Do not tell me that you have seriously missed that guy coming in the past few days eyeing you?" She then rolled her eyes as she threw her hands up in the air dramatically. "Oh, what am I saying? Of course you missed it! He's only been trying to get your attention for like the past three days!"

"Wait, you mean that guy has been here?" Amani asked, confusion still clear in her expression. How had she missed a man like _that_ hanging around a place like _this_. She wasn't lying when she said a good portion of her customers were moody teenagers determined to prove to the world just how much they hated life.

"Yes! The poor man has been coming in around this time every day. He pretends to be looking at books while eyeing you up, probably trying to figure how to best approach your busy bee ass. When he finally does, your barely blink an eye before going back to doing god knows what."

"Really?" She asked in shock and Callie merely shook her head as she crossed her arms. "You really think _that_ guy likes _me_?"

"Yes! Yes! That's what I've been saying!" Callie cried out and Amani felt a small smile growing on her face at the thought. Yes, the average life was working out quite well for her…

Amani wrapped her arms tightly around herself after locking up the shop and waving goodbye to Callie. She stood there for a moment as she waited for her teenage friend to reach her moped, waving goodbye again as she drove off, before she headed to her own car.

That evening the bookshop ended up getting fairly busy. It had only just begun getting cold which was unusual for late November, but none the less that didn't slow down any potential buyers. Both Amani and Callie were about up to their ears in questions from people looking for something for loved ones, their children, friends, and even coworkers.

Of course they were both more than happy to help out. It was one of Amani's favorite parts of her job. Being an employee at a bookshop may not sound like the most exciting thing in the world, but she wouldn't trade it for anything.

The people who came into the shop were always the best, each one of them with their own special, quirky personality. She knew all of the regulars and would spend hours with them conversing about this and that. Her boss was great as well, an older woman who was lenient and laid back. She had lost her husband some time ago and started the bookshop to give herself something to do and to have some company.

She didn't come by as much anymore, due to her age, and Amani was shocked when she came to her a few weeks back with an interesting offer. She had been working for Beatrice for nearly ten years, she remembered herself at the ripe age of 20, starry eyed and ready to see the world. Now she was here considering if she was ready to take the bookshop off of old Beatrice's hands. She was astonished, and touched, when she was given the offer, tears welling up in her eyes as she held her long time friend's hand tightly. Amani told her that she would definitely think about it, she knew she wanted the place, it was as much a part of her life as anything else, but she was scared that she wouldn't be able to handle the responsibility.

She shivered as she pulled out her keys to unlock her car. Yet another thing she had for several years, old Bessy was getting up in her years as well, but still ran well enough for Amani. She didn't see any reason to fix what wasn't broken. She huddled into herself as she sat down in the driver's seat and started the car. Relaxing for a moment, so the car could warm up, she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.

A smile grew on her face once again as she remembered Blake. Amani didn't know if Callie was right, but she would be lying if she said that she didn't hope that her boisterous teenage friend was. The man was almost too good to be true and she wondered what kind of horrendous flaw he had. There had to be one, no one was that perfect.

When she felt her eyes start grow heavy and her body start to sag in the seat her eyes shot open and she shook herself awake. Seatbelt clicked in and sweater pushed up and away from her fingers, she backed out of her parking spot and took off for home.

Bessy couldn't go past a certain speed, lest Amani wanted a broken down car in the middle of the freeway, but she didn't particularly mind. She figured it kept her in check from going too fast and that was as good enough a reason as any. Especially at night when it was already hard enough to see.

Her small home was on the outskirts of the city, exactly where she wanted it. She had the beauty and quiet of nature without having to drive an hour every day to work. But this also meant that she had to drive through some iffy at best roads. There were never any lights and nobody ever monitored them so most people drove at any speed they liked. It always made her wary driving home at night, but she hadn't experienced anything too terrible.

She had just made it to the bridge as she looked over to turn on her radio. She wasn't too far from home, but she was tired of the dead silence surrounding her. She looked up toward the windshield again when bright lights flashed in her eyes.

Her eyes widened in shock and she screamed as she jerked her wheel to the right. She had drifted into the other lane without realizing it, something she hadn't done since she was teenager, and the car coming towards her was going much faster than it should have been. She heard the squealing tires of the other car as her car came to a crashing halt, breaking through the guard on the bridge and teetering on the edge.

"M'am?! Are you there? Are you hurt?!" She could vaguely hear what sounded like the voice of a young man. She panted, her eyes shut tightly, as she tried to calm down her racing mind, and heart. Her eyebrows furrowed as she felt a trickle slowly run down the side of her head and realized she must have hit her head against the steering wheel.

"M'am!" She heard the man call out again and she shakily raised her hand.

"I'm here!" She croaked out as she slowly opened her eyes and she heard the disbelieving, but ecstatic, chuckle of the man.

"Good, that's great! I'm gonna find a way to get you out of there, just stay still. I already called the police, don't worry." He said and Amani's eyes widened as realized the situation she was in.

"Oh god." She whispered as she stared down at the deep, rushing river below her. If the drop didn't kill her, than the water most certainly would. Her hands gripped her sweater tightly as she didn't know what to do with herself.

"Okay, m'am, you just need to unbuckle your seatbelt and I'll help you climb out." Amani looked over, her expression terrified, and saw the young man. He looked like he couldn't be any older than Callie's age and she idly wondered for a moment if her friend knew him. He had a football jacket on that was as bright as the expression on his face. He really believed he could save her…

"I-I'm not sure it's such a great idea." She stuttered out, her voice trembling, as her hand moved to unbuckle the seatbelt anyways.

"Normally I would agree, but the car's gonna fall any minute. We need to get you out now." He said calmly and she was amazed how calm some kid could be in a situation like this. She would be freaking out if she was in his shoes, she was certainly freaking out enough for the both of them.

She let out a small sob as the car shook suddenly and she shut her eyes tightly. Amani started trembling even more than she was before and a few tears leaked from her eyes as one thought ran through her head. _I don't want to die, I'm not ready to die._

"Hey, it's alright, look at me." The kid demanded and she opened her eyes in surprise as she looked at him. He had a determined look on his face as he carefully placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You're gonna make it out of this." He reassured and, looking back on that day, she would be sorely tempted to blame the kid for those very words.

It wasn't his fault, it wasn't anyone's fault really. If it was, it certainly was hers. She cried out again as the cat started slipping and she felt the man's hand tighten on her shoulder. They took one look at each other before she started hauling ass out of the car. Just as the future football star started pulling her out of the car it finally gave way, dragging her down with it. She heard the kid cry out as she slammed back into her seat.

She barely had time to even open her mouth to scream before the car hit the water. She did manage to cover her face and shut her eyes tightly before the impact. But the force of the car slamming into the water had left Amani in a daze. She had tried getting herself together, knowing somewhere in the back of her head that she only had so much time since she didn't take breath before going under.

She wanted to cry when she realized just how trapped she was. The car had made it to the bottom and managed to tangle itself in a fallen tree. There were branches everywhere, most importantly there were branches blocking her one means of escape. Choosing not to even acknowledge the thick branch that had shoved itself through her windshield and stopped next to her head, she began to try to find her way through the branches, a slight panic in her movements.

She wanted to cry out with joy when she found a hole she could slip through, her limbs protesting the movement as they froze up in the bone chilling water. Her lungs started to burn as her arms and legs fought against the weight of her clothes. Just as she started making progress, though, she was jerked back.

She felt despair fill her entire being as she saw that her knit sweater had gotten caught on the branch. She wasn't going to make it, even if she did manage to get free she wouldn't have enough time to swim to the top. Already her lungs were screaming for air and she was fighting with her jaw to keep her mouth closed. She closed her eyes as she accepted her fate, wondering if one could cry underwater.

_Goodbye Beatrice, sorry that I couldn't help with your shop._

_Goodbye Callie, I'm sad I'll miss the chance to see you grow up._

_Goodbye Kaleb, I wish could have seen my big brother's wedding. Please don't blame yourself for this._

_Goodbye Noodle, I wish I could have had one last kiss and cuddle from my favorite dog in the entire world._

_Goodbye mom, goodbye dad__…_

…

…

…

Everything faded away in the silence of the water. Every thought, every hope, every dream, every fear. Everything she had once cared so much about now seemed only like a dream.


End file.
